RESEARCH REVEALS WESTERN ISLES CONSUMERS PAY £2.66 MILLION PER ANNUM IN DELIVERY SURCHARGES

Alasdair Allan, SNP MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, has hit out at the unjustifiable delivery surcharges islanders have to face after research has shown consumers in the Western Isles continue to pay over the odds.

The Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) has estimated that consumers in the Western Isles faced £2.66 million in delivery surcharges over the course of 2018. This is a near 5% increase from 2017 where SPICe estimated the cost of delivery surcharges as £2.54 million.

The power to regulate parcel delivery surcharging is reserved to the UK Government. However, the Scottish Government has launched an action plan on tackling unfair delivery charges which includes steps such as developing a fair delivery charges map where consumers will be able to compare and track delivery costs and providing a crowdsourcing website where customer experiences of unfair deliveries can be shared.

Commenting, Alasdair Allan said:

“Islanders rely on being able to purchase items online that we cannot easily pick up locally. However, the Western Isles continues to be one of the worst places affected by retailers setting arbitrary and unjustifiable delivery surcharges. Island consumers are now paying more an astonishing £2.66 million in delivery charges.

“More has to be done to stop islanders being ripped off. While the Scottish Government’s recent action plan was a welcome step forward in the campaign against unfair delivery charges, ultimately the powers in this area are reserved to the UK Government and they must step up.

Survey

Newsletter

Subscribe to Alasdair's mailing list

Email Address

First Name

Last Name

By ticking this box you confirm you would like to receive updates from Alasdair Allan MSP by

Email

You can change your mind at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the footer of any email you receive from us, or by contacting us at alasdair.allan.msp@parliament.scot. We will treat your information with respect. For more information about our privacy practices please visit our website. By clicking below, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with these terms.

We use MailChimp as our marketing automation platform. By clicking below to submit this form, you acknowledge that the information you provide will be transferred to MailChimp for processing in accordance with their Privacy Policy and Terms.